Heart On Fire
by ashleyh13
Summary: New Years One-Shot. They have been broken up for two years, he cheated with her best friend's sister. Now two years later, she is finally making her comeback in the public eye and he just so happens to be watching. Will she learn if he love really ever faded? /OC


Lola smiled towards her boyfriend as he snaked his arms around her tiny waist. She couldn't believe that he was all hers. They had been together for almost two years almost they were still going at strong as they were when they first began dating. But the same couldn't be said for her sister, Tori, and her boyfriend. But if she was honest, Lola wasn't all that surprised. He had gotten involved with her sister while he was still with his ex-girlfriend, who just so happened to be one of her best friends. And because Tori knew how close they were, she hid the affair from Lola. You know the saying, 'blood is thicker than water,' well in this case Tori wasn't so sure Lola thought so.

Danny noticed the distant smile that his girlfriend offered him. It could only mean that she was lost in her own little world of thoughts. "Everything okay in that beautiful head of yours?" Placing a gentle kiss on her temple, he felt her nod against him.

"I'm fine, I promise." The reassuring smile on her lips was enough to satisfy him. Just as he was about to add more the conversation, Lola's smile dropped and was replaced by a small imposter. Looking ahead, he saw the reason. Her sister had arrived, along with her boyfriend, John. He knew how much she had been hoping they wouldn't show. Tori never gave their brother a definite answer as to whether they were coming or not, Lola took it as they weren't coming at all.

"Looks like you were wrong babe."

"You think." Danny chuckled lightly before pulling away from his girlfriend to greet Tori and John. Lola remained in the same place she had been for a few moments before finally giving in and walking over to them.

"Lola!" The largest smile she could muster appeared on her lips as she hugged her sister.

"Hey Tori, Happy New Year."

"Happy New Year! Are you ready to party?"

"As ready as I'll ever be. Hello John." She didn't even smile towards the man that stood by her sister. She couldn't. Not after what he had done to her best friend.

* * *

Ashley sighed as she ran her fingers through her long hair. She smiled towards some of the people as she passed them, waving here and there. Why had she agreed to do this again? It had been two years since she had done anything in public. After she left the WWE, it was like she had fallen off of the face of the earth. Sometimes she read stories online about her deaths, which actually made her laugh.

"Are you ready?" The voice of the stagehand broke her thoughts. She smiled towards him and nodded. It was New Years Eve. This was Dick Clark's New Years Eve Special and there was only about the whole watching and waiting for her to make her come back into the modern world. She had nothing to lose right?

* * *

Lola shook her head as her brother failed to be funny. It was so not funny, it was funny. As she turned away from the conversation, the performance on the television caught her attention. "Oh. My. God." She couldn't believe that she didn't tell her. She sat down on the couch watching as her best friend made her come back performance on the Dick Clark New Years Eve Special. This comeback had been two years two long.

"What is she doing on TV?" The sound of her sister's voice was enough to ruin the moment.

"What does it look like she's doing Tori? She's singing."

"Well she's not doing a very good job of it, am I right?" She laughed alone. No one else found her jab amusing. And Lola swore she saw a flash of anger cross John's face. But it was gone and the emotionless, stonecold expression was back again as fast it went. "Oh come on, you all can't be serious. You don't honestly like her. She isn't good in the ring and she isn't good on stage."

"Tori, shut up."

"Oh, gonna defend you wittle best friend now? The bitch you can't even side with you own flesh in blood for? You're pathetic Lola."

"I'm pathetic? Okay. At least I didn't steal someone's boyfriend before they even broke up just because I hate her." Tori took a few steps closer to her sister, which made Danny do the same. He was ready to break up the fight if need be. But John, he was focused more on the woman on the television than on the scene unfolding before him. He hadn't seen her in two years. The only time he had seen her was in old photographs. And that was just becoming not enough for him. "Do you want to know why he's with you still?"

"Because he loves me."

"You're so stupid Tori."

"He does! He loves me!"

"He doesn't love you. He still loves her. He's only with you, because she dumped his sorry ass. You were only a test the entire time. A test to see if she was truly the one for him... if there was anything better out there for him. And guess what..."

"There wasn't." Lola smiled towards John as he finished her sentence.

* * *

Flipping through the channels, she let out a sigh. It was New Years Eve and she was spending it at home on her couch. After her performance, she wanted nothing more than to come home and change into her comfortable clothes and relax. Sure she could have gone to a party and done something fun, but she just didn't feel like it. Nothing good was on television, it was all about the ball that was being dropped right outside. She didn't live that far from Times Square and she could hear just about everything that was going on. Deciding on a music channel, the song "Heart on Fire" started playing.

She sighed. She couldn't believe that it had been two years since everything had happened. It was New Years Eve when John had asked her to make it official, it was another reason why she wasn't particularly wanting to go out. She smiled at the memory. He was so bashful. It was one of the only times she had ever seen him like that, but she liked it. New Years Eve was also the day she ended things with him. Lola told her everything that had been going on behind both of their backs.

How she could have been so stupid she didn't know. She thought that he really loved her. She thought for sure that they would end up together forever, married one day with kids and all. But sometimes you misread people. Wiping her eyes, she caught a glimpse of the photo on her coffee table. It was the only photo she had out that still had him in it. He had his arm wrapped around her kissing her forehead as she stood next to Lola, Eve, and Mike. It was taken at the celebration after Ashley had won her first championship. She smiled picking up the photo.

* * *

_"Say Cheese!" Justin said as he snapped the photo. Ashley giggled as John kept his arms wrapped around her waist and kissed her neck. _

_"Mike, let me have the belt! You're not even a diva!" Lola shouted. _

_"Maybe I want to be a diva." _

_"You wouldn't cut it. We're better than you could ever be." _

_"Oh really?" _

_"Yes."_

_"Really?"_

_"Yes, really."  
_

_"Really?"_

_"Here we go again..." Eve sighed, sitting down at the table. Ashley shook her head. She couldn't believe that she was friends with Mike sometimes. He was crazy and insane, but that's why they loved him. He was a major goofball. Just as she was about to ask for her belt back, she saw him stand on top of the table and raise the Butterfly Belt above his head._

_"I am the Miz, and I am your new diva's champ!"_

_"Please tell me someone is getting this on film..." John whispered.  
_

_"Don't worry, Lola is. She will need it for blackmail or something later on." He smiled and kissed her lightly. _

* * *

She looked towards the door skeptically as the knock echoed through her apartment. Who would be knocking this late, even on New Years? Slowly putting the picture down she stood up from her place on the couch and padded her way towards the door. Opening the door, she froze. What was he doing here? Was this some kind of sick joke?

His blue eyes slowly met her brown ones. She tried to formulate what she wanted to say, but nothing came out. Running a frustrated hand through her waving locks, she took a deep breathe. He knew that this wasn't going to be easy. He knew that by him coming here, it was probably only going to end up in a fight. But he had to see her. He had to see her in person.

"What are you doing here?" Her voice was still the same. He smiled a little as he looked up from the floor.

"I had to see you."

"What? Aren't you supposed to be with Tori or something?"

He shook his head. "That's over Ash. It has been. It never really started. She was just, just a test."

"A test?"

"Can I come in? I'll answer you want me to." He watched as her eyes narrowed towards him. She studied him for a second before stepping aside, opening the door more and allowing him to enter her apartment. It hadn't changed much. It still smelled like vanilla and lavender. The decor was the same, black and white. Simple. The way she liked it. And something he found he liked about her.

Closing the door softly, she walked into the kitchen. "Do you want something to drink?"

He knew that he shouldn't. He knew that he was testing the waters by even showing up, but he needed her. He wanted her. And he as long he had the chance, he was going to try his damnedest to get her back. Pushing her hair off her shoulder, he pressed his lips to her bare shoulder. His lips felt like fire against her skin as he pressed lingering kisses up her neck. Slowly he reached her lips; at first they were short, light kisses but soon it turned into a passionate kiss. She turned in his arms, wrapping her own around his neck. He lifted her onto the counter as she wrapped her legs around his torso.

"Dammit John... We can't do this..." She breathed roughly as she pulled away from him. "I can't.." He watched as tears brimmed her eyes, using the pad of his thumb to wipe away the straw ones.

"Ashley, you don't understand. I love you. I never loved her. And when we were together, I never slept with her. You can ask her baby girl. I wouldn't do it. Tori was only a test. A test to insure that I was making the right decision."

"What decision were you making?"

He smiled and looked at the clock. _11:57. _He had three minutes. "Do you remember when I flew Matt out to spend the weekend the with us? I said it was just because I wanted to see him?" She nodded. "Well, that wasn't entirely true." John kissed her lips lightly again and got down one knee. He felt in his pocket for the ring he had picked out that weekend with his brother.

"John... what are you doing.."

"Ashley.. I know that it's been two years, and I know that no one will understand, but I love you. I love you so much. This doesn't have to be an engagement right now, it can be a promise for one. Just please, say that one day, you will be my wife." She couldn't believe the sight in front of her. Wiping her eyes, she nodded her head and smiled. He smiled and stood up from the floor, placing the ring in her hand before kissing her. _5...4...3...2...1...Happy New Year!_ The distant shouts of celebration could be heard as they broke apart from one another. Handing the ring back to him, she put her hand out for him to place the ring on. "Really?" She nodded. _  
_

"This is going to be so much fun to explain," she murmured as she admired the ring on her finger and rested her head on his chest.


End file.
